Full-Day Tour to Quilotoa Lagoon From Quito with Lunch

Quito, Ecuador

11 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

Lunch
Private transportation
Permits to enter protected areas
Bilingual guide Spanish / English.

Additional snacks and refreshments during the trip
Souvenirs
Horse rental (Optional 10$)
Kayak rental (Optional 5$ - 15 Minutes)
Tips
Entrance fee - Laguna Quilotoa

$2.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Saquisili

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Canon del Rio Toachi

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Laguna Quilotoa

3 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Tigua

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Romerillos

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Most travelers can participate
Necessary Equipment: Comfortable And Warm Clothes, Windproof Jacket (Optional), Gloves, Neck And Ear Protection, Camera, Sunscreen, Comfortable Shoes For Walking In Mountainous And Sandy Terrain.
All times are approximate
We can accommodate dietary needs such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc. If you have dietary requirements. Please kindly indicate it to the special requirements at the time of booking.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.6

based on 7 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Not enough time

uug55, May 2026

The tour started by visiting a local market. It sold veggies, fruits, rice, meats, cooking oils, etc. We spent 30 minutes there and the market was not interesting. Then we visited an indigenous family. This was more interesting. Then we only 2 hours at the Laguna. That was not enough time at all, if you wanted to go to the Laguna shores. Then we spent another hour at a lunch place. The food was ok.

Response from Host, May 2026

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and for your thoughtful 4‑star review. We’re glad you enjoyed meeting the indigenous family and spending time at the Laguna, even if the visit felt a bit short. Your feedback about the market and timing is very valuable and helps us improve the balance of our tours. We appreciate your comments on the lunch as well, and we’ll continue working to make each part of the day more enjoyable. We’re grateful for your trust and look forward to welcoming you again with even better experiences!

A great one-day option from Quito

Brian_W, Dec 2025

Anthony was a great guide, offering the group explanations in both Spanish (which I could practice) and English (so I could understand, haha). The activities were well-timed to break up the diving necessary, the bus was comfortable (even if the roads aren't always!), and the included hot meal was a nice taste of Ecuador. The volcano and lagoon are of course the highlight, and was an amazing experience! I cannot recommend strongly enough renting a kayak and going out into the middle to take it all in. :-) Note that you'll need to be pretty fit to make the hike back out at such a high elevation on foot (but riding a horse out is also an option for $10/person). All in all, just a fantastic day and overall experience (and workout!)!!!

Response from Host, Dec 2025

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experience with us! We’re delighted to hear that Anthony’s bilingual guiding made the day both informative and enjoyable, and that the timing of the activities, the comfort of the bus, and the hot Ecuadorian meal added to your adventure. We’re thrilled that the volcano and lagoon left such a lasting impression, and we love your recommendation about kayaking out to the middle—it truly is a magical way to take it all in. Your thoughtful note about the hike back at high elevation will surely help future travelers prepare, and we appreciate you highlighting the horse option as well. It means the world to us that you had a fantastic day filled with discovery, culture, and a bit of a workout too! Thank you again for your kind words and 5-star review. We hope to welcome you back for another adventure soon. Warm regards, The Kajol Lavan Travel Team

A Nice day at Quilotoa lagoon

Zinovy_D, Dec 2024

About 2.5 hrs in total at Quilotoa. About 45 minutes to decent and about 1.5 hrs to get back up Not much time for boating at the lake. Pretty cold at the lake level. If you are planning to use a horse to return back up, the horse I had really struggled. So, if you are like me 80-90 kg plus the backpack, it could be a problem. I chose to get off the horse about 1/3 of the way up and struggled back up the rest of the way under my own steam. It is quite steep.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Thank you for the review, safe and happy travels!

Heavy hike to the beautiful place

Daniel_T, Dec 2024

It was great in many ways. I got to see and learn a bit about Ecuador. Make sure to have many one dollar coins for small purchases and tips to indigenous people. Why I can't give 5 stars is that I was disappointed that there were no horses available and I had to hike up the Quilotoa. The hike up took me about 40-45 minutes and hiking down was probably 20-30 minutes. So having the two hour time there, was quite inefficient. I still believe that horses could have been arranged with prepayments and so forth but that was not the case. The guide David was very kind and did everything to make the trip as good as possible so great thanks to him.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Thank for the review Daniel, There are always horses(more like mules to be exact) at the place for renting, the indigenous people are offering their mules for rent, as the guide have specified to you, you have to let them know you want to rent a mule, before you go down, when are already down at the lagoon, it is not possible to let them know, because the mules are up. best regards Itai

Beautiful Ecuador and its people.

Lorena_B, Jun 2026

Great day getting to know a small part of the robust geography of the Ecuadorian highlands and of course, the spectacular Quilotoa.

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Response from Host, Jun 2026

¡Gracias por tu maravillosa reseña! Nos alegra que hayas disfrutado de un gran día explorando la impresionante geografía de la sierra y, por supuesto, el espectacular Quilotoa. Tu experiencia nos motiva a seguir creando momentos inolvidables.